


Spilt Champagne

by harriiiii



Series: HP Femslash - 'Cause the world needs more of it. [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, HP - Freeform, Ministry, POV Female Character, POV Hermione Granger, Pansmione - Freeform, Post Hogwarts AU, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Romance, girls, linny - Freeform, slight drarry, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 10:13:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13587918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harriiiii/pseuds/harriiiii
Summary: AU where the MoM holds a gala to celebrate the end of the second wizarding war. Filled with champagne and the start of something new.





	Spilt Champagne

At 7 pm on a Saturday night, Hermione Granger was sat in front of a mirror glaring at her friends who were stood behind her. Why? You ask. `Because she was meant to be getting ready for a very important event. However, as you may have realised; Hermione did not want to go. Not at all and that was why she was so resolutely putting off putting on the fancy, too expensive dress and going. She continued to glare at the mirror.

“Oh honestly ‘Mione. It’s just a gala. We go every month. No stop glaring at me. It is  _not_ my fault that the ministry decided to host this stupid shithole of a gala but we do have to go. Whether you - or anyone for that matter - don’t want to go. _”_ Ginny was sat lounging on Hermione’s bed, her pantsuit unbuttoned at the top button and her blazer off. 

“She’s correct you know. If you don’t go you’ll be racked with guilt.” The airy voice of Luna said from where she was sat next to Ginny.

“Such faith yee hath in my intelligence,” Ginny muttered. Luna just smiled and pat her girlfriend’s hand.

Hermione shook her head at the pair and put her head in her hands. “I know,” she sighed. “It’s so. It’s _infuriating.”_ She turned around to look at her friends. “The war ended 4 months ago. There are still people grieving! And we’re meant to get dressed up and socialise with ministry officials and accept Order of Merlin’s like its all alright now that old Voldy’s dead? There’s still death eaters on the run for Merlin’s sake!” Her hands were flying around faster and faster as she got more worked up.

Small cold hands enveloped her own stopped them from their rampage. She took a big breath and looked up to see Luna looking down at her with her big watery blue eyes. Luna removed one of her hands and cupped Hermione’s cheek. Hermione gave her a small smile then pulled her hand free. She turned back to the mirror and rested her head in the crook of her elbow. She didn’t see the concerned look that Luna and Ginny shared. 

“Look ‘Mione, we’re not disagreeing with you but if we don’t go, we’ll have a shit tonne of hell to pay. Ron’s going and so is Harry. Neither of them wants to but you know, Harry has a saving people thing.” Hermione chuckled wetly. Ginny continued. “And, and George is going. He’s accepting Freds’ order of Merlin as well as his own.” Her voice dropped a little. “We’ve gotta go ‘Mione. For everyone who died. They’d want us to receive them, if not for ourselves, but for them.” Ginny had moved to stand next to her girlfriend. 

Hermione looked up at them in the mirror again; this time she wasn’t glaring.

“I’m sure Harry and Ron would expect you to go with them anyway. Even after you ended things with Ron you didn’t stop being friends did you?” Hermione shook her head. exactly and we go, we get our awards and we leave. We go through the rest of August then we go to Hogwarts in September for Seventh Year - or Eighth in your case. We owe them nothing, we’ve done enough. We sacrificed our childhoods for them.” Luna’s voice was gentle and comforting. Her hand ran through the mass of curls on Hermione’s head.

“Now Miss Granger, I believe we need to get you dressed,” Ginny said.

Hermione nodded and giggled. This was going to be fun.

-

“I hate this.” 

Hermione sighed, “So do I Harry but I’m pretty sure that Ron gave you the same speech Ginny gave me.”

Harry ran a hand through his hair, “What, you mean the one that we’ve gotta do it for the people who died?” At her nod, he said, “Yeah, that’s the one.” He grabbed two glasses of the champagne that was floating by them, sipping one of them and giving the other to Hermione.

She took it gratefully, “Hey, maybe you’ll find a nice guy to chat up who doesn’t care about your status and you can finally stop moping around.” She jostled him with her elbow, laughing. “You do tidy up rather nicely if I do say so myself.”

“Maybe you’ll find some nice chick to chat up.” He quipped, jostling her back. “So do you, Hermy.” Putting his arm around her shoulders he pulled her closer.

With a squawk of indignation, she swatted his chest, “Don’t call me Hermy!”

“Alright alright,” Harry replied, his hands raised from where they were around her shoulders and holding the champagne. “But you do look beautiful ‘Mione.”

And she did. Her hair had been left curly and put into a loose bun at the top of her head. She wore minimal makeup except for clear gloss, some shimmery eyeshadow and just a little mascara. She wore a silvery blue gown with a low cut, off the shoulder neckline; the skirt was long and had delicate silver embroidery along the hem that trailed along the floor. She wore a simple, elegant silver necklace with an opal pendant and matching earrings. To top it all off she had a simple white cloak lined with silver that settled over her shoulders.

She looked very pretty indeed, and it surprised her when people took a second look at her. She leant her head on Harry’s shoulder. 

“How long till the ceremony starts?” She asked with her voice muffled by Harry’s jacket.

“Dunno, maybe an h- Oh My God.”

“What-  _Oh_.” Hermione turned her head to look in the direction Harry was looking in and her mouth dropped open. Through the large open doors of the ministry room, in walked Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. She turned to look at Harry  “I-” She didn’t know that Malfoy had been allowed to come. 

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

Hermione watched as they walked further into the room. They still held themselves the same but their faces were thinner, sadder. 

“Was Malfoy always that hot and did I not notice?” Harry murmured in her ear. “They look tired.”

“I’m surprised that you care honestly and yes he was and yes they do,” Hermione replied. “So, your turning over of a new leaf even applies to them?”

“Yeah. Ron hasn’t though. Oh, look. Speak of the devil.” 

Hermione lifted her head to watch as Ron made his way over to them, an angry look on his face. “Oh boy, here we go.”

“Can you believe it? They’re letting the blonde prat and the she-devil in? I swear these people will invite anyone in for a bit of publicity. How do they know they’re not planning an attack?” Ron huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked quite like an impertinent toddled, Hermione mused.

“They did help a lot during the war and you know that Ron. Malfoy had to risk his and his family's safety to get us that information and Parkinson did the same.” Hermione said reasonably.

Without taking his eyes off of Malfoy Harry added, “And I doubt they’re planning an attack as there’s a whole army of Aurors stationed in here.”

Ron looked at them both outraged, he threw his hands in the air before his shoulders sank and he let out a deep breath. “I know, it’s just. Seven years of holding a grudge doesn't help a bloke in liking someone.” He ran his hand over his eyes. “Have you forgiven them then?” He asked begrudgingly.

“Not fully but if they apologise then yes, I think so. There's no point in holding grudges, Ronald.” She looked at him sharply.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear ‘ya ‘Mione.”

Hermione laughed and shook her head. She loved her friends - even their brat like tendencies.

Hermione looked over to where Malfoy and Parkinson had been standing. Parkinson was stood on her own. She tilted her head to ask Harry where Malfoy had gone but his eyes were still trained on the blonde-haired boy who was making his way to the door that led to a little outside garden.

She poked him in the side and he jumped, his eyes darting around wildly until they came to rest on his friend tucked into his side. She raised an eyebrow at him and he flushed, mostly unnoticeable on his dark skin but there none the least.

He ran his hand through his hair and met the quizzical gazes of his friends. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He frowned and removed his arm from Hermione’s shoulders. Hermione watched his retreating form weave through the surging crowds before twisting to face Ron. He just shrugged and swapped his drink into’ the other hand.

Hermione had a good idea what Harry was up to but somehow she didn’t think that Ron would be very grateful to hear it so she just shrugged back. 

Hermione had just opened her mouth to say something before a loud voice called Ron’s name over the crowd and he turned to leave. 

“You ‘right if I...?” He trailed off uncertainly.

She chuckled, “Of course Ron, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” She pushed him with her free hand and he let out a laugh. 

“I’ll see you in a bit yeah?”

“Go Ron.”

He walked away laughing. She shook her head and looked around the room. It was large and had a high ceiling encrusted with runes. A huge chandelier hung from the centre and the floor was made of huge marble slabs. Ornate pillars were dotted around every so often and there were long tables against the walls covered in snacks and drinks.

She moved towards the tables but before she could get even halfway there a body knocked into hers. Her champagne fell to the ground and a hand grabbed her waist. It all happened very quickly.

“Oh shit, I'm so sorry - Granger?”

“Oh, Parkinson,” Hermione said a bit breathlessly. The hand on her hip tightened a little. “It's fine really.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Parkinson let go of her waist and stepped back a few steps. “You alone? Where’s Potter and Weasley?”

Hermione didn’t know why she started talking but the words leapt out of her mouth anyway; maybe it was the champagne. “Er - Ron went to talk to someone and Harry disappeared over there.” She gestured vaguely towards the garden.

“Interesting,”  Pansy’s eyes glistened with something indescribable. “You’re smart Granger, surely you can't have missed Potter's staring.”

Hermione let out a breath of laughter, “If you’re talking about Harry following Malfoy out then I have to agree with you. He looked completely dazed.”

“You’re not wrong.” Parkinson crossed and uncrossed her long legs and Hermione had to admit that she was extremely beautiful in a dark, sharp way. She was all angles; her raven hair was cut into a sleek bob. Her dress was emerald green, reached the floor and had a slit up her right leg. The neckline plunged down to just below her breasts and joined lace sleeves that showed sharp collar bones. She wore 6inch heels that left her both in awe and terrified of Parkinson and her makeup was sharp as well; knife-like eyeliner; perfectly applied lipstick; high arched eyebrows...

A cough jolted her from her thoughts. Hermione realised she’d been staring when she looked up to see Parkinson regarding her with an amused expression. She looked down blushing.

“You’re cute when you blush.” Which made her blush even harder. Parkinson chuckled coyly. “Perhaps you’d like to accompany me to the snack tables, then I can replace the champagne I spilt?” It was said with a confident smirk but Hermione could detect a slight hint of uncertainty underneath.

She gave Parkinson a huge smile to chase away any uncertainty. If Harry was all for forgiveness then she could do it too. “I’d love to.” And she was surprised to find she meant it.

And for the first time in seven years, Hermione witnessed one of Pansy Parkinson's truest smiles.

Hermione was still smiling as they walked towards the tables and as she glanced over at Parkinson, she noticed she was too. Her smile grew even further.

-

Half-an-hour later found Hermione and  _Pansy (_ Parkinson insisted on it because ‘if they were going to socialise then they would at least do it properly.’) sat outside in a secluded area of the garden, significantly tipsier than before.

Hermione had concluded that a) she really liked talking to Pansy, b) she should probably stop drinking or she wouldn’t be able to walk to collect her award and c) she really liked Pansy’s eyes; they were deep and stormy and held laughter and pain and promise. 

Hermione swirled the champagne around in her glass a few times before taking a sip. She listened as Pansy described, in great detail, the story of how she broke four of her mother’s vases and a window due to a burst of accidental magic. Her eyes were alight and her hands were flying everywhere.

“And when she walked in she just stopped and looked at me, surrounded by all this glass and burst out laughing. It was one of the only times I’ve ever seen my mother so, how do I say it, undignified?” Pansy giggled.

Hermione was clutching her sides laughing, “ _it wasn’t even that funny,”._ She looked up at Pansy and their eyes locked and they were both sent into a fit of giggles. Once the giggles had died down Hermione was wiping the mirth away from her eyes before Pansy’s hand on her wrist stopped her.

“Let me. You’ll smudge your makeup.” And Pansy proceeded to cup Hermione's face in one hand and carefully run her thumb under her eyes. “Done.” It was whispered, like a breath.

Time froze and they stayed like that for a while, Pansy’s hands cupping Hermione's face and their eyes locked. Everything sped up when Pansy starting to lean in, slowly, so slowly and Hermione closed her eyes.

She could feel pansy’s breath on her cheek and her hand stroking her jaw. She moved in closer and closer-

A bell rang from in the hall and they broke apart abruptly, breathing heavily. Pansy removed her hand from Hermione's face and hid it in the skirt of her dress.

“I’ve,” Hermione swallowed. “I need to go. You know, the awards, we’re expected to be lined up and everything.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I’ll see you later?..”

Pansy nodded and smoothed a hand over her hair. She offered her a smile.

Hermione stood and turned to leave. "You coming in yet or?..." she trailed off.

Pansy shook her head. "No, no it's fine. I'll be in in a few moments. Wouldn't want to miss it." She gave her another smile.

"Right." She nodded. "See 'ya later Parkinson." She turned and walked away, glancing back once and only just missing the frown on her face. If she'd had walked slower she might've caught the muttered: "Back to surnames are we?"

-

Hermione found her friends sat at their assigned table. Ginny was grilling Harry about something and Luna and Ron were discussing something whilst Luna drew patterns with her fingers on Ginny’s hand.  The small group looked over at her when she sat down. A manic grin grew on Ginny’s face.

“Sooo... Hermione.”

“Oh dear Lord.” Gained her two snorts from Harry and Ron.

“Pray tell, where did Miss Granger run off to.”

“Can’t you go back to terrorising Harry?”

“Hey!”

Hermione turned to Harry, “It easier for me if they grill you.” She grinned at him.

Harry grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. He pushed his glasses up his nose with a huff.

Hermione laughed and turned back to face Ginny. “ I simply don’t know what you’re talking about.” She put on an innocent face.

“You’re tipsy, giddy and only just got back. Spill.” Hands on the table, leaning so far forward and with such a mischievous grin on her face, Ginny looked positively terrifying,

Hermione gulped. “Later..?” She attempted.

Ginny frowned and crossed her arms but nodded anyway. “Yeah, alright but I'm holding you to your word missy.”

Hermione just laughed and put her hands up in mock surrender. She smiled them all and turned to talk to Harry again. She let herself be lulled by the gentle conversation and atmosphere of the room though she found that her thoughts often drifted to Pansy.

Not fifteen minutes later the ceremony started and as she waited to walk onto the stage to collect her Order of Merlin she found herself looking for black hair and an emerald dress. The only glimpse she got was of her standing towards the back of the hall, shoulders back even when people gave her nervous looks. She looked straight at Hermione and their eyes met again like they had done in the garden. Hermione watched, transfixed as slender arms dropped a piece of paper by a glass of champagne. Those stormy eyes looked down at once and back up to her own brown ones. Pansy winked and walked from the hall without a glance back. Her heart fluttered.

Later, once Hermione had collected her award, she picked up the piece of paper, tucked it into her robe and then left with her friends.Only when in the safety of her bedroom and away from the prying eyes of her friends did she read it. And when she did, her stomach filled with butterflies. Maybe spilt champagne will lead her somewhere new.

-

**_ The note _ **

_Hermione,_

_Thank you for the wonderful evening and congratulations on your award. I would like to apologise for what happened in the garden. However, I would like to invite you to meet me for lunch. Think not of it as a proposition but of an offer of friendship because if you are willing I would love to be your friend._

_Faithfully,_

_P. Parkinson_

**Author's Note:**

> The third edition of my Femslash series. Thank you for all the love on my last Pansmione AU. I just can't get enough of these two! Leave a comment if you'd maybe want me to follow this up with an epilogue? Please leave kudos and comment any constructive criticism! -H


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